Restore and Repair a Word Document Displaying Random Codes on Opening

Have you ever opened a Word document only to be greeted with random code or strange symbols in place of your text? Is it possible to repair and recover these corrupted files? How do you fix a damaged Word file that's full of unreadable symbols? If you're struggling with this issue and can't seem to find a solution, try the methods outlined in this article to restore your document.

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【Quick Fix for Strange Symbols in Word Document】 When you open a Word document and see unusual symbols instead of normal text, it typically indicates an issue with the document's encoding or format. Here are some quick solutions: 1. **Change Encoding**: Try saving the document with a different encoding type, like UTF-8 or ASCII. Go to "File" > "Save As," then select a different option from the "Encoding" dropdown. 2. **Restore Default Fonts**: The problem might be due to missing fonts in the document. Use the "Replace" function (press Ctrl+H), enter `*` in the "Find what" field, leave the "Replace with" field blank, and replace all with each font one by one. 3. **Open in Compatibility Mode**: Try opening the document in "Compatibility Mode." In the file open dialog box, find the dropdown next to the "Open" button and choose "Open in Compatibility Mode." 4. **Online Decoding Tools**: If the above methods don't work, try using an online text decoding tool to parse and convert the document. 5. **Repair Word**: If the issue persists, there might be a problem with the Word application itself. Try repairing it through the "Programs and Features" in the Control Panel, or reinstall Word. 6. **Recover from Backup**: If possible, restore the document from a recent backup. If no backup is available, you may need to manually retype lost content. Please note that these steps aren't guaranteed to solve the issue 100%, but they provide potential solutions to attempt fixing your Word document. Make sure to back up important data during the process to avoid data loss.

Before you attempt to repair and recover a damaged Word file, try these simple tricks first to resolve the issue.

1. Use fonts that are common on most computers, such as Arial and Times Roman.

2. Drag the desired font into the Fonts folder in your Library to install it.

3. Enable the “Font Book” feature in your Applications folder on your Mac.

4. In Word, replace it with a new, compatible font.

Recover a Word Document with a File Recovery Tool

An efficient way to fix a corrupted Word document is by using professional file repair software. The Fixo Document Repair tool (Document Repair Tools) enables you to restore damaged Word documents that display gibberish when opened in the simplest manner possible.

This file repair tool will help you fix a corrupted Word file with unreadable content, and resolve issues like corruption, inaccessibility, and pagination problems. It repairs the entire Word document in its original text format. Now, follow the below steps to download and use this software to fix a Word document opening with random codes or unreadable symbols.

Step 1: Download and run Fixo on your computer or laptop. Choose "File Repair" to fix corrupted Office documents, including Word, Excel, and PDFs. Click "Add File" to select the damaged document.

Step 2. Click “Repair All” to fix multiple files at once. If you only want to repair one, hover over the target file and click “Repair.” You can also preview the document by clicking the eye icon.

Select the document to repair

Step 3. Click “Save” to save the selected documents. Choose “Save All” to save all repaired files. Select “View Repairs” to locate the folder with the repaired files.

Repair a Corrupted Word File with Microsoft Office

To fix and recover a corrupted Word document that appears as symbols or garbled text, you can use the “Open and Repair” tool in Microsoft Office.

Step 1: Click the Microsoft Office button and then click "Open."

Step 2: In the Open dialog box, click your Word document.

Step 3: Click the arrow next to the Open button, and click Open and Repair.

Restoring a Corrupted Word File with Encoding Issues from an Earlier Version

Step 1: Right-click the corrupted Word file and select “Restore previous versions.”

Step 2: Find an earlier version of the damaged or virus-infected Word file, and then click Restore.

Step 3: Run Word and open the recovered file again. If you receive a warning that some text layers are missing fonts, click OK.

Step 4: Check through all the layers and annotate any gaps, then save it as a new Word file.